Heist
by Taninim
Summary: Tragic news of Cragen's sudden passing come at the most inopportune time for Olivia and her unit. As events unfold, a pregnant Benson begins to realize that her former Captain's death may be part of a larger offensive against her entire squad, putting all of their lives in grave danger. ...Elliot shows up big time a couple of chapters in.
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: Tragic news of Cragen's sudden passing come at the most inopportune time for the Lieutenant, smack in the middle of a high stakes case. As events unfold, a pregnant Olivia begins to realize that her former Captain's death may be part of a larger offensive against her entire squad._

 ** _This story takes place some time in the present time of the show, though let's maybe say Olivia is a few years younger for the sake of what happens here. I'm disregarding Dodds' existence and demise because he doesn't have any weight in this narrative._**

 ** _I haven't written one of these in a looooong time, but this story popped in my head and I decided it'd be fun to get it down. It will be longer, but shouldn't get too out of control. Maybe 10-15 chapters._**

 ** _Small disclaimer. While I follow the show regularly, I am sure I might get some facts wrong. Feel free to call out any glaring mistakes. And I own no rights. Hope you enjoy._**

—

Olivia started becoming aware that every part of her body was being rattled by small bumps of movement, like rolling over little pebbles. Her eyes were closed, and in a far corner of her mind, she felt a tickle that was becoming a nuance. She was waking up from a deep sleep, in what she guessed was a moving vehicle.

Her left ear was leaning against something that felt soft and hard at the same time. A shoulder. _It's Ed_ , she thought to herself, and decided against opening her eyes just yet.

She had almost drifted back to sleep when a more sizable bump caused her to grunt and remind her of her mobile state. The tickle in her head scratched at her again, but this time it was more of an annoying ache that finally caused her to crack her eyes open. She didn't want to, she felt tired, but something was telling her it was time to wake up.

As soon as she opened her eyes, before she could bring into focus the interior of the vehicle, she knew something was wrong. The bright daylight coming through the windows pierced her vision and sent a jolt of pain to the back of her eye sockets. Blinking a few times, she began to lift her head, trying to unblur her surroundings.

Olivia was right in her original assessment. She was indeed in a car, more specifically a limousine, based on the style of seating and dark interior. That made her feel a bit better. Aside from the pain in her scull, she was starting to remember how she had ended up here. They'd attended Cragen's funeral today, and she was riding back to the precinct in the limo that took them to the cemetery that same morning. Looking up she saw Rollins and Carisi in the seat across from her. She raised her hand to rest on her uniform clad belly, feeling the bump there and the warmth coming from the life inside. She had only started showing about a month ago, but her belly was growing fast.

She turned her head to the left to confirm that it was indeed Ed's shoulder that she had nodded off on, but was surprised to find Fin there instead. Fin, who was also slumped over, asleep. Confused, she snapped her head back to her other two detectives in front of her and realized that in her hazy state moments ago, she didn't notice that Rollins and Carisi were completely passed out as well.

The peculiarity of her predicament hit her in full force and all at once. Her ears felt hot, eyes watery, and air caught in mid breath. She tasted bile in her mouth before she even turned her head to the glass that divided her and her three best detectives from the driver of the moving limo. The glass that would have normally allowed her to see her driver and identify him, had been taped completely black.

—

 _Four Hours Earlier_

Fin Tutuola did not like funerals. He was aware of the fact that nobody did, but he was convinced that for him they were especially unbearable.

It's not that he didn't respect the practice. On the contrary, it felt good seeing all the people that had gathered to pay respects to his Captain of many years. But the endless hand shaking, the fake small talk, the the very real tears - all of those factors made him uncomfortable.

The ceremony had just ended, and Fin was walking right behind Tucker and Olivia, the former holding Noah with one arm and another on the latter's lower back, down the stairs and into the reception area. Fin had the rock solid plan of saying a few courteous but quick goodbyes to Don's family members and then slipping out to wait outside in the limo for the rest of the squad.

Usually they'd all go straight to a bar with fellow members of the force and drink to Cragen's many years of service. But the reality was that they were in the middle of the biggest case they'd had on their hands in at least three years, with stakes so high they kept him up at night, and there was literally no time to spare.

Liv had insisted all of them attend the funeral, even though Carisi offered to stay back and hold down the fort since he had never really worked with Cragen.

Coming to a slop as they arrived at the entrance to the reception area, Fin looked up at his Lieutenant as they waited for people to shuffle into the room. She was looking somewhere in the distance, eyes sad, but everything else about her was exuding strength. He knew she saw it as her duty to keep it together, with a tragedy like this hitting when they are all running so low on sleep and so high on stress. Just yesterday, the Lieutenant had to get in the middle of a screaming match between Rollins and Carisi, right in the middle of the precinct floor. Benson had to literally pull them apart, sending them both home at the early hour of 7pm.

He knew she wanted all of them to take this break in the day to give Don the respect he deserved, and the time for themselves to comprehend what had happened before diving back into the madness.

Hours before learning about Don's unexpected passing, they had just busted a truck transporting no less than 27 girls - sex slaves - trafficked and headed for destinations all over the country. They were from different parts of the world, but most were from Mexico and Ukraine.

It was Fin who got the call about Don's heart attack. He stood outside the room where Olivia was talking with two of the girls, opting to wait rather than interrupting her when he could tell she was making good headway with them.

He watched as she thanked them and asked the other female officer in the room to continue the interview, got up and walked out of the room to meet Fin.

"How is Rollins doing with the other two? I want you to corroborate their stories as soon as possible so we can…"

"Liv," Fin interrupted, drawing a surprised look from his lieutenant. Olivia was one of the most intuitive people he'd ever met, and she sensed the change in his tone immediately.

"What is it, Fin?"

Her eyes were looking deep into his, like long arms trying to search for answers. Fin cleared his throat, knowing this was not going to be easy news to break.

"It's Cragen, Olivia. I'm so sorry, I just got the call. He passed, Liv. He passed away this morning."

She stayed there, staring in his eyes, and he could see her facial muscles shift as his words sunk in. She blinked a few times and leaned back, her hand flying to the wall next to her and Fin realized she was steadying herself.

All of the sudden he felt like a complete moron for letting her take these news standing - she was halfway into her pregnancy and it hasn't been an easy one for her.

"He… Oh." She sighed, and Fin took both her elbows in his palms, leading her to a chair a few feet away. She lowered herself into it slowly, eyes downcast, and when she finally looked up at him her eyes were glossed over.

"He was about to leave on that cruise with Suzan… we were at his house on Sunday, for dinner. He was telling us about how he has taken up paddle boarding…" She was genuinely shocked, he could tell. "How? What happened?"

"I know, Liv. That man was lookin' younger last time I saw him than he did ten years ago." He paused. "It was a heart attack, possibly a stroke. His daughter said they think it was the high blood pressure. Said they call it the silent killer."

Olivia was nodding, a single tear escaping her eye. She leaned in and they embraced each other, a rarity for the detective and his Lieutenant, but the two of them shared a love and respect for their former Captain that they both understood better than anyone.

"The funeral is tomorrow at 8 in the morning." Fin informed her when they pulled back from the short hug.

Olivia nodded, and Fin saw her face change again as she slipped back into her role as the leader of this unit, her brow hardening and lips tightening and he saw her brain kick into high speed.

They looked at each other as if reading the other's mind, thinking what neither of them could dare say out loud. _This is the worst timing_.

"We can't have another all nighter tonight. I want everyone to go home by 8 this evening. We will rest, and tomorrow after the funeral we will go straight back here and continue where we left off. Get the night shift officers briefed on their stake out locations before you all head out."

Fin was nodding as she spoke, knowing that taking even a 12 hour break on this case could be detrimental to the progress they'd been making.

The Lieutenant rose form her seat, steady as a rock, and patted Fin's shoulder as she walked past him and towards the other detectives out on the floor to deliver the tragic news.

 _Tomorrow is going to be hell_ , Fin thought to himself as he started following her. But even in his worst nightmares, he could never have imagined just how true that would turn out to be.

 ** _To be continued…_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thank you for your kind reviews and follows. I've got a pretty good idea of how this one will unfold, and I'm pretty excited about it. New ideas keep popping so I'll try to continue updating consistently. I should mention, this story will turn M soon for chapters in the near future._**

CHAPTER 2

—

 _Stay out of this Lewis_.

Her fingers trembled as she patted herself and the seats around her in a futile search for her phone, her gun… ANYTHING. She tried to keep quite, but her own erratic breathing sounded like horns in her ears.

 _STAY out of this._

She chanted the mantra in her mind as she moved to check Fin's pockets. _Stay out. Stay out. Stay out._

 _...I've gotcha now, Olivia._

Olivia closed her eyes and repeated to herself the words that she hoped would eradicate his voice in her head and keep the onslaught of flashbacks from starting. She's had them under control for a while now, but the truth is that since she's found out she's become miraculously pregnant, she's adopted a nasty dose of unwelcome vulnerability that left a vacuum in her well patched mental wall, giving Lewis room to haunt her mind and pay visits to her psyche once again.

Opening her eyes eyes, she surveyed the three sleeping detectives. Everyone looked unharmed, but evidently unarmed as well. _What a fucking nightmare._

"Fin, Rollins, Carisi. Come on…" She whispered, reaching over and gently shaking them by the knees. She needed them to wake up quietly.

As she repeated their names, she tried to think of the last thing she remembered. _Noah's hair._ She kissed his head over and over as she said goodbye to her son. Tucker was holding him, and Noah was fussing and mumbling toddler commands, telling her "Mama go home, is a late, Mama go home!"

Olivia felt tears stinging her eyes. Since this case broke two weeks ago, she hadn't spent more than a consecutive hour or two at a time with her son, slipping in after he's long asleep most nights.

 _This is gonna be fun_

"Fin! Rollins!" Olivia urged, needing someone to be conscious with her to push Lewis out.

Rollins' eyes finally bolted open, and Olivia felt relief wash over her. She was starting to worry her detectives had gotten it worse than her and she'd be alone to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Shhhhh Rollins, listen to me. Are you ok?"

Amanda blinked her bloodshot eyes and leaned her forehead into her hands. Olivia sympathized as she watched her detective in a daze, clearly feeling the same after effects of whatever their captors used to knock them out. At this point Olivia suspected the limo cabin was completely sealed, and they filled it with Chloroform or another compound strong enough to make them all pass out instantaneously. And if the driver found out they were awake, she figured he would put whatever it was to work again.

"Lieutenant, what…"

"Listen to me Amanda. We've been taken. Keep your voice low, and help me wake these two up."

 _Stop pretending like you're in control, Olivia_

 _STAY OUT OF THIS LEWIS._

"Fin… Fin wake up. Please." She begged.

Stirring, Fin cracked his eyes open and looked around.

"What the fuck…"

"SHHHH!" Rollins and Benson whispered in his direction in unison.

Fin fumble for his gun while Rollins continued to work on getting Carisi to join them.

"I already checked, they took our weapons. Our mobiles are gone too." Olivia said.

"Who is they? Who the fuck is driving his car?" Fin asked in a hushed voice.

"I don't know. What's the last thing you remember?" Olivia asked.

"Talking to you, telling you I'd wait in the limo. Actually, I remember sitting here a while on my own. The driver asked if I wanted him to turn the radio on."

"Did you see his face?"

"No, just the back of his head. White guy, dark hair, early thirties tops. Fuck, how the hell did this happen…" Fin rubbed his head, his eyes, then turned to Olivia, looking first at her ashen face and down to her belly.

"Are you ok?"

"Yea. you?"

Rollins looked over at her Lieutenant, noting her white knuckles and the beads of sweat forming on her temples and upper lip. She herself felt nauseous from whatever they used to put them down, but she could tell Olivia was on the verge of yacking.

"What the hell is going on?" Carisi' was awake, jamming his thumbs deep into his eye sockets. Rollins squeezed her hand that was on his knee, trying to give both of them some piece of familiarity and reassurance.

"We need to think fast, and stay quite. I think if he hears us talking he's gonna knock us out again. Bastards took our watches too, so we don't know how long we've been here." The Lieutenant said.

They starting trying to see out the windows, wild eyes darting as they attempted to recognize their surroundings. They appeared to be on a dirt road with low foliage around them. The car was going a bit too fast for how narrow and windy the road was. Sun rays hit them directly in the eyes, only allowing them to take brief glances at the outdoors before having to cover their eyes in pain.

"Fuck my head…" Cars said.

"Man they fucked us good, I can still smell the substance. The air is thick with it. Where they sprain' us from?" Fin looked around searching for a vent that could be the source.

"Judging by the light, it's mid afternoon. What time did we leave the funeral home?" Rollins asked, and Olivia appreciated the detective thinking in the right direction.

"We left around 11, maybe half past, at the latest." Carisi said.

 _We are going to have fun together, Olivia._

She felt his voice like a slither along her spine, causing a lump in her throat. She could hear the smile, smell his seat. _Stay out stay out stay out…_

 _"_ Liv?"

She hadn't realized that she closed her eyes, holding them tightly shot. She opened them to find Fin and the others who were now all staring at her. She knew they looked to her to lead the train of rational detective work they started. Looking around, she reminded herself that she has some of the most brilliant minds in NYPD in this vehicle, and together they will solve this one problem at a time, one step at a time.

"I might need to throw up soon - I'm trying to hold it down." She admitted to them under her breath. She continued, trying to shift the focus away from herself. "That puts us at roughly 3-4 hours in this vehicle. We can't have gone very far. Does anyone recognize anything?"

"We might be somewhere deep in Long Island, but my guess is we're out of the state, maybe west. It's awfully sunny here." Cars offered.

"It's a young forest, traces of a recent wildfire… Those look like young Birch to me." Rollins continued, whispering.

"Fuck the trees, who the hell is behind this?" Fin shifted in his seat, exasperated, beads of sweat rolling freely from his forehead.

 _Let's make it rain._

Olivia shuddered, willing his voice away. _Please,_ she begged anyone that could be listening.

"It could be… anyone." Rollins said, the hopeless words rolling slowly from her tongue.

"This was a well organized, high risk heist. We have two new recruits about to join the squad, but as of this moment every detective from SVU is here in this limo. Someone is trying to shut us up." Olivia was saying the words as she was thinking them. She wanted to get her detectives spitballing just as if they were in the precinct, problem solving together.

"You sain' It's Kalashnikov?!" Carisi exclaimed.

"Hush!" Rollins put her hand over his mouth, as they all took a moment to process this possibility.

Kalashnikov is what they've been dubbing their current case. That was the name that the girls from both of the busts, the one yesterday and the one two weeks ago that broke this case, have been calling whoever is running the show. Olivia suspected it was an Alias, named after the Russian rifle of the same name.

"How the hell they think they gonna shut us up? Take us to the forest and give us a talking to, make the NYPD drop the case?" Rollins was saying.

"A talking to? Amanda they are going to off our heads as soon as this car stops." Carisi spit.

"Carisi, that's not helping." Olivia sighed. "But we do need to be prepared for anything once this vehicles reaches wherever they are taking us."

"Don't you think they'd have offed us by now if they just wanted us dead?" Fin offered, and Olivia prayed to god that he was right.

As if on cue, the limo came to a jarring holt. The detectives straightened in their seats, taking deep breaths as they listened to the driver's door open and shut. They could see a dark figure walking around the front of the car, loud footsteps making distinct marks on the gravel. A second door opened and another set of footsteps were now crunching around the vehicle. _Two captors._

The foursome sat quietly, no one daring to breathe too loudly, as they braced themselves to be confronted by whoever kidnappped them straight from Cragen's funeral and brought them out here.

"There is another car." Carisi, who had the best view to the rear of the vehicle, whispered barely audibly.

At that moment a passenger door flew open spilling light into the cabin where they sat, causing all of them to blink away welled up moisture in their bloodshot eyes.

Four rifle barrels were now sticking through the door and into the car, pointing at no one in particular. Olivia recognized them right away. Those were Kalashnikov rifles.

"Get. Out." Said one of them.

Olivia looked at each of her detectives and gave them a small nod, trying to make as much eye contact a possible before they confronted what's next.

"Out! NOW! Hands where we can see them!" Another male voice yelled, and Fin moved first to climb out.

Olivia was the last to exit the limo. Her eyes adjusted to the light, and she finally had a better look at the forms that held them hostage. Four men of average hight, dressed in matching black tees and track pants, with black bandanas tied around their faces reaching just under their eyes. She caught the eyes of the one with the lightest eyes, so light blue they looked like death. He winked, and she shuddered.

They began jabbing at the detectives with the tips of the rifles, getting them to stand against the limo with a few feet between each other.

"Fuck" Carisi grumbled as the man guarding him jabbed the barrel into his temple, getting him to move further away from Fin to his left.

"Who are you, and what do you want form us." Olivia managed to say in a calmly and slowly. Her stomach was doing flip flops and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep the bile from rising for much longer.

The men were quiet, standing in matching stances with the rifles pointed squarely in each of the detectives' foreheads.

"This doesn't have to go like this. You haven't done anything yet, if you let us go here we can work out.." Olivia's words were muffled by the swinging barrel of a gun, landing squarely into her cheek bone. The blow knocked her back, stumbling, into the ajar car door. She held on to it to keep from tumbling to the gravel.

"No!" Fin yelled, both him and Carisi turning instinctively to her aid.

They were promptly pushed back to their positions with jabs from their captors and incoherent yelling.

Rollins stood frozen, hands raised high, trembling with fear.

"Shut up, Olivia." The voice came from the man who's rifle was trained on Rollins, the one with the icy eyes.

"You have no authority here. You will do what you're told, all of you. Another word, and I off the blonde." The accent was clearly Russian or Ukrainian, though it was faint. The three detectives shared worried glances with each other before settling on their Lieutenant, who was still hanging on the open door of the limo.

Olivia's world was spinning as she struggled to keep her eyes from crossing, the pain radiating from from her cheek to her entire face. Finally she kneeled down, turning away from the group and emptied her stomach, one hand on swelling midsection, eyes stinging. Their captors actually waited for until she stopped retching before they started jabbing at the detective's shoulders, urging them to move. Olivia pulled herself up by leaning on the car, wiping her mouth with her sleeve in the process. She did her best to look stable, not wanting to display any more weakness in front of these monsters. Her stomach was settling with each passing moment.

"Start walking, straight line, no talking." The one with the accent said, almost calmly.

Olivia walked last behind the group, arms up, mind racing.

She thought about Noah and her unborn child. She thought about Ed and the strength he gave her. She remembered the day they found out the prolonged flu she thought she came down with was actually a fetus growing inside her. She thought about how she'd thrown herself into work again in the last month, the bad habits she was forming again.

And then she thought about Elliot. She thought about the letter she got form him, six months after her ordeal with Lewis was over. She thought about how she never answered his plea to meet, or acknowledged that she'd received it at all.

She thought about what a mistake that was. Because finding herself in this situation again brought back the same thoughts she'd had those final hours with Lewis. _Elliot would know what to do._

 ** _To be continued. Reviews of any kind are welcomed and appreciated!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Sorry for taking this long to update, I'm trying to stay ahead now so that doesn't happen again. It has been a while, but this chapter picks up right where the last left off, time wise. Things start getting a little dark here, but we also finally see how Elliot fits into all of this.**

 **Cheers and enjoy! Reviews of all kind are welcome.**

* * *

Eliot slowly turned in his ruffled bed sheets as the ringing became persistent.

His head was pounding, but the ringing was coming from his cell.

Without fully opening his eyes, he reached for it on his nightstand. He'd had more than a few too many the previous night and was fully intending on sleeping through the morning, and the rest of the day if possible.

"Stabler." He mumbled.

"Stabler, this is Ed. Ed Tucker."

It took Elliot a few moments to process who was talking to him on the other end of the line. But when he did, it propelled him to sit up straight, eyes wide open, sleep long forgotten. _What in the world could Ed Tucker be calling him about..._

What followed had Elliot fully clothed and with keys in hand before the conversation was even over.

It was strange to hear from this man from his past on this day in particular, because his old squad had been on his mind the entire previous day. He spent most of it lost in thought, thinking about Olivia, drinking himself into forgetting. Yesterday morning, Fin had called to inform him that Cragen, his old boss and good friend, had passed, and the funeral was today. Eliot was devastated about the news of his sudden passing, but just couldn't get himself to get up the courage and go. He could have gone, because he happened to be in New York, staying at his Brooklyn apartment which he'd barely ever stayed in over the last three years that he'd had it. He wanted to go, to pay respect to his old mentor, but he couldn't face seeing everyone - and especially not Olivia. He wanted to see her badly, but not under these circumstances.

A month earlier he'd found out about the recent (very major) changes in her life. He'd been aware for quite some time now of the adoption of her son, hearing about it almost right after she brought him home. He'd been keeping track of her from afar after he found out about the horrific ordeal she went through with Lewis.

But he hadn't heard about her relationship with Tucker and now her pregnancy until a month ago, drinking at a local bar with old friends from the academy. Now that Liv was a Lieutenant, her personal life was even more of a topic of interest around the NYPD hum of gossip.

He was trying to grasp as much information as he could from Tucker's summary of the events that led him to make this phone call, but Elliot's brain was in overdrive, adrenaline drumming in his ears. He knew he wasn't quite comprehending what he was being told, but the urgency of the situation caused his instinct to take over. He was opening his car door less than five minutes from when he first opened his eyes.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, on my way now." Eliot let the phone fall on the passenger seat and put his key in the ignition, focused on getting to the 16th Precinct as fast as his car could get him there.

* * *

Fin, Carisi, Rollins and Benson walked one behind the other, in that order, each followed closely by their very own guard, separating them from each other by at least ten feet. Four Kalashnikov rifles were trained squarely at the detectives' and lieutenant's heads. They hadn't been walking for long, so the bright light of the early afternoon was irritating the detectives' sensitive eyes from their recent chloroform infused slumber. Olivia had fully expected to walk for at least a few miles, probably until they reach another getaway vehicle. At least that's what she hoped. The alternative was that any second they would be asked to stop and get shot squarely in the head. She found herself wondering if they'd be asked to face their captures, or get shot to death from behind, one lethal bullet...

Her dark thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the man whose gun was trained on her.

"Stop."

Olivia's breath caught in her throat, wondering if she was hallucinating. She really thought they weren't going to meet their end just yet, that they'd have a chance to form an escape plan, that they'd be found and that her baby would be...

"Stop, I said! Fucking shits. You too blondinka."

Olivia saw Rollins holt to a stop. She exchanged quick glances with her detectives. Olivia knew they were all loosing it inside, but each kept their head up, eyes sharp, feet planted squarely on the ground. In all of the fear and dread, Olivia Benson felt proud of her squad.

"That's good, now turn around. Turn around I said! Especially you Lieutenant. Can you see well? there!"

Olivia looked right into her captor's icy blue eyes. She saw something twisted there. The glossy smile of a devil. He looked nothing like him, but she saw Lewis there.

The Ice Devil grabbed her by the back of her neck, twisting her head until she was turned towards where the black Limo they came out of and the small grey SUV that followed them were still parked.

"I want you look right over there, and don't blink. I want you to remember this in case any of you idiots even think of trying any funny business." The man obviously had a temper, and his Russian accent seemed to get thicker when he got angry. Olivia noted this for later, in case there was going to be a later for them.

The man behind Fin signaled something to whoever was in the SUV, and the detectives watched as a man came out of the drivers' side. Dressed similarly to their kidnappers, his face was covered and he held a Kalashnikov rifle in his left hand. He opened the passenger door, and four more people came out, one by one. They stumbled out of the vehicle and were led to the limo that Benson, Fin, Carisi and Rollins had just come out of.

Olivia stole a glance at Fin, who seemed to confirm her suspicion. The four figures that came out of the second car, there was something strange about them. They wavered and wobbled as they walked. They all appeared to be women, and Olivia could tell from even this far away that they were street girls. If she was right to assume that their kidnappers were connected with their current case, these girls were put in this position against their will, probably stolen from their homes and sold into this life. They'd been drugged, that she knew for sure.

One of them fell to her knees, but the man with the gun must have either hit or yelled at her because she scrambled back up.

The four girls filed into the limo, and the door was closed behind them. The driver waved towards the detectives, walked straight back to the SUV and drove off, picking up dust as it took a sharp turn to get back on the road.

Olivia felt lightheaded as she started realizing what was about to happen. She felt the corners of her eyes blur and she blinked a few times to clear her sight and mind.

For a few seconds, nothing was happening. Dust had settled and the limo stayed unmoved. Maybe she was wrong?

Suddenly realizing that the Ice Devil's hand was no longer on the back of her head, she looked back just in time to see that he had crouched down, hands covering his head, as did the other three kidnappers.

The silence was broken as Fin shouted "Take cover!"

Olivia felt him grab her, pulling her down with him at the same time that an explosion rocked their world.

The four detectives hit the ground almost at the same time, milliseconds before the force of the explosion would have knocked them off their feet. Olivia wrapped one arm around her belly, the other trapped behind her own weight. Fin made sure she didn't land on her stomach, and despite a new wave of pain hitting her, she was grateful. The limo that kidnapped them from the funeral and drove them here had blown up into pieces, with four women who were forced to take their place.

She she tried to shield herself from the heat of the explosion and the flying parts, she looked around to make sure everyone else was ok. Everyone seemed alert, only a few scratches and bruises. But in all of their eyes, she saw the horror that she felt.

Four innocent women were dead, creating a diversion for anyone who might try to find them. This was a well planned, tightly executed operation. Their kidnappers may not have killed them, but they clearly wanted the world to think they were dead.

* * *

Tucker wiped the bead of sweat that trickled down his stubbled cheek. He was standing outside the precinct with a cigarette in one hand and his phone in the other. The conference call between the Chief, Police Commissioner, and several representatives of both the CIA and the FBI, had gone on for a while and he needed to get some air. He was less interested in throwing blame and worrying about the politics of the public thinking the NYPD can't even keep their own detectives safe, and more worried about a concrete rescue plan.

Ed Tucker had never felt more anxious and sick with worry in his entire life. Olivia was gone, he did not know where, he did not know if she was safe or even alive. Just hours ago he kissed her goodbye, helping her into the very vehicle that was planted to kidnap her and the three detectives. He couldn't stop himself from imagining the worst, seeing flashes of Olivia, pregnant with their child, laying lifeless somewhere. He pushed the thought out of his head, focusing back on the conversation on the other lines and reminding himself that there was no time for self pity. He was a rational man, the furthest thing from spiritual, but right now he was praying to anyone or anything that may be listening, praying that she was alive, that this was all a nightmare. He'd give anything to take her place, anything to bring her to safety.

And in all the worry, he found himself feeling angry with her. He knew it was wrong. He knew this wasn't in any way her fault, but he couldn't help his misplaced feelings.

He knew it was a lingering feeling from the arguments they'd been having about her long work hours over the past few weeks. Ever since they found that they were going to have a child together, he felt protective, responsible for her well being, after all it was their child she was carrying. He knew she was not in the prime age to be having her first baby, and he couldn't imagine what he'd do if anything happened to either of them. Olivia called him 'antiquated' whenever he expressed too much concern.

She wasn't careless by any means, she did her best to follow the instructions and suggestions their doctor had given them. She went to all the appointments no matter what was happening at work, even though she had more of them than the average woman due to her age.

The doctors seemed to think she was fine and even strong, and should be able to have a healthy baby if she keeps doing what she's doing. But right now, she was anything but fine.

Ed chucked his cigarette to the ground, putting it out with the tip of his shoe just in time to see Elliot Stabler pull over by the precinct, parking his car in red and jumping out of it. Stabler spotted him almost immediately and was already running towards him.

It was an odd way to run into Stabler again, an old enemy of sorts. On any other day he'd probably try to avoid the encounter like fire.

But right now there was no other man he wanted to see and talk to more. And that was because Stabler was their first solid lead since they learned of the kidnapping five hours ago, and possibly their only hope for a rescue mission.

* * *

Eliot saw him before he even stopped the car. Tucker looked about the same as the last time he saw him years ago. But even from afar, Elliot could tell that the elder man's demeanor was anything from how he'd ever remember him. He knew Tucker as cold blooded, merciless, poker faced.

Now, the man was nearly hunched over, shifting his weight from leg to leg impatiently, looking around as he puffed smoke out of his mouth. Elliot instinctively passed judgement on the vice, knowing that he was dating his pregnant ex partner.

By the time he caught up with him, Tucker had already notice him and was walking towards him as well.

To Elliot's surprise, Tucker had extended his hand as they approached each other. He knew Tucker needed his help, but he didn't think he'd be this warm.

"Stabler, thank you for coming so fast. I can't tell you how glad I was to find out you're in the city."

"Of course. Fill me in."

"Let's walk and talk."

By the time they reached the SVU floor, Elliot had all the basic information, which was not a whole lot more than what he got from Tucker on the phone.

Olivia, Fin, and the two other SVU detectives Rollins and Carisi, had all shared a limo back to the precinct after Cragen's funeral across town. They left around noon, and it wasn't until four hours later that the alarms started going off about their absence. People back at the precinct who did not go to the funeral assumed the four senior officers were attending the gathering at the bar, and the folk at the funeral saw them leave hours ago.

Even Tucker didn't try contacting her for four hours, because he knew they were in the middle of a grueling case.

Eventually when Olivia missed an important meeting with some key higher ups where she was supposed to give an update on the case, people started really looking.

And the case SVU was dealing with was precisely why they called Elliot. Tucker explained that they'd been cracking down on an East Coast wing of human trafficking operations, a part of a larger ring run by a man dubbed Kalashnikov. Nobody knew if it was a man or an alias, but the running theory was this went all the way up to the Russian Mafia.

Agent Stabler, as he now was called, was able to confirm that Kalashnikov was indeed an alias, but the man was very much real. Elliot himself had the pleasure of meeting him about two and half years prior for a short unpleasant encounter.

Elliot spent three years essentially undercover with the Russian mob. After leaving SVU, he'd been quickly recruited by the FBI, without much of a break in-between. It was never Elliot's intention to join the FBI, but when the opportunity presented itself it was hard to decline. After a month of meandering and feeling trapped in his own head, he was getting antsy and needed something to occupy his time and mind.

He spent most of those three years undercover, with breaks every few months, and eventually got out completely because it was deemed too dangerous for him to remain with the group. It was a disappointing ending to the operation for him, without a big climax, but there were a few small wins throughout.

When he got out for the final time, he learned about what happens to Olivia with Lewis. He was completely devastated, and had to stop himself from just showing up at her place or the precinct. In the end, he settled on a letter.

He knew she got the letter because he sent a currier, but she chose not to respond. He struggled with that, but it was his own doing that got them to this point in their friendship, and knew he had to give her the space if that's what she wanted.

Still, he kept an eye and an ear on her always, finding solace in at least knowing she was safe, and seemingly happy.

"We got something!"

Elliot came out of his daze and followed Tucker as he rushed towards the officer who shouted over the noise on the floor.

Gathering behind a computer screen, they found themselves watching a video taken by what looks like a bystander phone recording of a burning vehicle.

"It was found just off the freeway. We've matched the vehicle to the Limo that took the Lieutenant and detectives."

"Was there anyone inside?" Tucker and Stabler asked in unison.

"Yes, sir. Four casualties. No identification has been made yet."

Elliot felt both lightheaded and sick at the same time.

* * *

"We need to stop the bleeding." Carisi was saying, holding Amanda's forearm with his bound hands.

Fin, Rollins, Carisi and Lieutenant Benson were once again sat shoulder to shoulder, this time in the back of a white van. Their hands were tied behind their backs and feet tied in front of them.

They were left alone in the back, with two of their captors in the front. This allowed them to speak in a whisper to one another.

"It's ok, it looks worse than it is." Rollins said, but a wince gave away her discomfort.

Her shoulder gut cut pretty bad against a tree branch when they took the fall from the explosion. The wound looked painful not life threatening.

"I have a handkerchief in my pocket. Here..." Olivia shifted her weight to one side, giving Carisi access to her back pocket.

He was about to ask why she has a handkerchief of all things, but remembered that they had technically just come from a funeral. Cragen's funeral seemed like days ago, but it only about 10-12 hours had passed.

Carisi took the handkerchief and went to work getting Amanda's arm bound up.

Olivia slumped back, sliding lower against the wall behind her and letting her head hang to the side, eyes closed. She'd been nauseous again ever since they got forced to ride int he back of effing van, on top of feeling completely exhausted.

She'd been tired before this ordeal even started. Her pregnancy, this case, the news of Cragen's death.

Now all of that seemed far, and the main concern on her mind was that she hadn't had a drink of water, let alone anything to eat, in over twelve hours. She was worried that if she threw up again she'd become even more dehydrated. She didn't know if her pounding headache was due to that, or the punch to the face, the fall to the ground... she was just grateful that her baby was ok. At least that's what she told herself, because she didn't feel any pain in her abdomen.

She brought her palm to her belly, feeling the heat radiate back and forth.

"Liv..." that was Fin's voice.

With the touch of a hand on her shoulder, she realized they'd been calling her name for while, and looked up to meet their three sets of eyes.

"What? Oh, sorry. I'm alright. Just..." She looked around, trying to collect her thoughts. She wanted to get the attention away from herself. She felt like she had to stay strong for the others, but she saw the concern etched in all of their faces.

"Amanda, how's the arm?" She quickly asked, noticing that her shoulder was bound and the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

"I'm good Lieutenant. All taken care of."

"Good, thats good..." She trailed off, swallowing the taste of bile. "Alright, we need a plan. Let's hear some ideas."

* * *

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